Lyrics

Papa I know you're going to be upset

'Cause I was always your little girl

But you should know by now

I'm not a baby

You always taught me right from wrong

I need your help, daddy please be strong

I may be young at heart

But I know what I'm saying

The one you warned me all about

The one you said I could do without

We're in an awful mess

And I don't mean maybe, please

Papa don't preach

I'm in trouble deep

Papa don't preach

I've been losing sleep

But I made up my mind

I'm keeping my baby

I'm gonna keep my baby mmm

He says that he's going to marry me

We can raise a little family

Maybe we'll be all right

It's a sacrifice

But my friends keep telling me to give it up

Saying I'm too young, I ought to live it up

What I need right now is some good advice, please

Papa don't preach

I'm in trouble deep

Papa don't preach

I've been losing sleep

But I made up my mind

I'm keeping my baby

I'm gonna keep my baby, ooh oh

Daddy, daddy if you could only see

Just how good he's been treating me

You'd give us your blessing right now

'Cause we are in love

We are in love, so please

Papa don't preach

I'm in trouble deep

Papa don't preach

I've been losing sleep

But I made up my mind

I'm keeping my baby

I'm gonna keep my baby, ooh oh

Papa don't preach

I'm in trouble deep

Papa don't preach

I've been losing sleep

Papa don't preach

I'm in trouble deep

Papa don't preach

I've been losing sleep

(Papa don't preach)

Oh

(Papa don't preach)

I'm gonna keep my baby ooh

(Papa don't preach)

Don't you stop loving me daddy

(Papa don't preach)

I know I'm keeping my baby

Credits

Written by Brian Elliot

Additional lyrics by Madonna

Produced by Madonna and Steve Bray

Drums and keyboards by Steve Bray

Rhythm guitar by David Williams

Electric guitar by Bruce Gaitsch and John Putnam

Acoustic guitar by John Putnam

Additional keyboards by Fred Zarr

Percussion by Johnathan Moffett

String arrangement by Billy Meyers

Background vocals by Madonna, Siedah Garrett and Edie Lehmann

Album

True Blue

The Immaculate Collection

Celebration

Single

This second single followed the example of predecessor Live To Tell and became a huge #1 hit in the US (Gold), UK, Canada and Australia. In Japan it reached #2. The song heated discussions about abortion. Anti-abortion organisations wanted Madonna to speak up against abortion, while women organisations and parents criticized Madonna for encouraging teenage pregnancy. Madonna said she just wanted the song to be "a celebration of life, not a national controversy". In 1986 the song received a Grammy nomination for Outstanding Pop Vocal Performance.

Video

The video, directed by James Foley, visualises the story of the song: a teenage girl gets pregnant and is terrified to tell her dad (played by actor Danny Aiello). Romantic images of Madonna (with short blond hair) and the boyfriend are combined with images of her dancing alone in the dark - as if she's crying in the dark for help. In the end she tells her father. He reacts angry but in the final shot he takes her into his arms. At the 1987 MTV VMA the video received a nomination for Best Cinematography and Best Overall Performance, and it won an award for Best Female Video.

Tour

On the Blond Ambition Tour, Papa Don't Preach closed off the church segment of the show. Wearing a black robe over her pointy bra, Madonna lipsynced most of the song while doing a choreography with six dancers.

Three years earlier, she premiered the song on the Who's That Girl Tour, this time singing it live. She jumped around on stage, wearing a white dress and a black leather jacket. The screen in the background showed several historical images.

Many years later, Papa Don't Preach returned on the Re-Invention Tour. Her shirt referred to the original video, except that it didn't always read "Italians Do It Better"; on most shows it was "Kabbalists Do It Better", while the UK shows had their own "Brits Do It Better" and "Irish Do It Better". Her Scottish kilt suited the song well, coz she was spinning around a lot, just like a schoolgirl. At the end, she danced in a circle with 4 other girls (in Arnhem with 2 girls and 2 boys). While the others twirl away, Madonna's left alone on stage and the music is haunting. She walks to the front of the stage and sings the first verse from American Life: "Do I have to change my name? Will it get me far? Should I lose some weight? Am I gonna be a star?"P